1. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, together with the Ministry of Environment, sent a private-public “Latin America Green Caravan,” comprised of delegates from government agencies, public organizations and enterprises, to Mexico, Costa Rica and Colombia from September 26 through October 3. The dispatch was designed to promote cooperation with the Latin American countries in the environment sector and pave the way for relevant Korean companies’ entry into their markets.

° The 37-member “Latin America Green Caravan” was led by Vice Minister of the Environment Ministry Jeong Yeon-man and included officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Environment, the Korea Environmental Industry & Technology Institute and the Korea Environment Corporation as well as those from 15 private companies.

* The Foreign Ministry, together with the Environment Ministry, has sent the Caravan to Latin America since 2011 to support the relevant Korean companies’ bids to enter the new markets in the region.

2. The Caravan visited Mexico from September 25 through 27. During the visit, the delegation attended the 21st Green Expo; held one-on-one business meetings; and met with relevant government officials of the State of Mexico. Through these activities, the group learned about the trend in environment industry’s market in Latin America and laid groundwork for the cooperation between the Republic of Korea and Latin America in environment industry.

° At the Green Expo, the largest event in Latin America for environment industry, the Caravan set up a promotional booth themed “Green Korea” to publicize the ROK’s outstanding environment policy. The delegates also attended the seminar held as part of the Expo event to explore the possibility of Korean companies’ entry into the environment market in Latin America.

° The Caravan also held one-on-one business meetings with 18 relevant Mexican companies to build local networks in preparation for the future entry of Korean enterprises into the Mexican market. The delegation also met with relevant government officials of the State of Mexico to discuss ways for substantive cooperation between the ROK and Mexico in reducing air pollution and waste disposal.

3. In Costa Rica from September 28 through October 1, the Caravan hosted a ROK-Costa Rica green forum on cooperation in environment industry; concluded a memorandum of understanding on waste management cooperation between the ROK Ministry of Environment and Costa Rica’s Ministry of Health; paid a courtesy call on First Vice President Alfio Piva and met with other key government officials; and held one-on-one business meetings. Through these activities, the delegation laid groundwork for the ROK-Costa Rica cooperation in environment and Korean enterprises’ entry into the Costa Rican market.

° As part of the projects under the bilateral MOU on waste management, the ROK government agreed to examine and analyze the current environmental situation in Costa Rica and map out a master plan on waste disposal, which is expected to help Korean companies take part in the waste disposal sector in the country.

° During the courtesy calls on key figures, including First Vice President Alfio Piva and Health Minister Daisy Corrales, the two countries agreed to work more closely together in various environment-related sectors, including water and sewage facilities, air and biodiversity.

4. In Colombia on October 2 and 3, the Caravan held a ROK-Colombia forum on cooperation in environment industry; met with key officials, including Mustafa Duran, Deputy Minister for Environment, Housing & Territorial development; concluded an MOU between the Korea Environmental Industry & Technology Institute (KEITI) and the Public Companies of Cundinamarca (EPC) and another between KEITI and the Autonomous Regional Corporation (CAR) of Cundinamarca; and held one-on-one business meetings.

° At the ROK-Colombia forum on cooperation in environment industry, the Caravan elaborated on the ROK government’s environment policy and expressed willingness to support Colombia’s efforts to improve environment by sharing its technology.

° The Caravan’s head Jeong Yeon-man held meetings with Deputy Minister Mustafa Duran and Governor of Cundinamarca Alvaro Cruz, where the two sides agreed to work closely together in setting up and improving water and sewage facilities as well as waste disposal.

° By concluding the two aforementioned MOUs, the two countries have established an institutional foundation for discussions on concrete cooperation projects in the environment sector.

5. As part of its efforts to promote interagency cooperation in the ROK government, the Foreign Ministry will continue to cooperate closely with other government agencies and dispatch delegations to foreign countries with the aim to extend tailored support to Korean companies on their bids to enter foreign markets with much potential for cooperation. By doing so, the Ministry will actively support Korean companies’ efforts to create future growth engines.

                    Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations of MOFA

* unofficial translation